Poster frame



D. S. HOWELL Dec. 6, 1966 POSTER FRAME 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug. 14, 1964 FIGI NVENTOR DV|D S. HQWELL y BY {3v/@W452i ATTORNEYS Dec. 6, 1966 D. s. HOWELL 3,289,341

POSTER FRAME Filed Aug. 14, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR DAVID S. HOWELL BY f3? ATTORNEYS United States Patent fiddii Patented Een. E, ld@

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3,259,341 POSTER FRAME David S. Howell, Royal Galt, Mich., assigner to Ariington Aluminum Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation ot Michigan Filed Aug. I4, 1961i, Ser. No. 389,624 8 Claims. (Cl. Q -152) This invention relates to trames, and, in particular, to `poster frames employed for display of posters and the like.

One object of this invention is to provide a knockeddown poster frame composed of `four side rails which can be shipped unassembled in a compact carton yet which can be quickly and `easily assembled into the poster frame by the .use of four accompanying spring corner locks which are snapped into position to couple the rails together at their ends so as to form an open-centered rectangular frame.

Another object is to provide a poster frame of the foregoing character wherein the frame rails are provided with recesses near their corners, such as grooves extending longitudinally to their corners, into which the spring corner locks snugly t in a manner suicient to prevent their removal by the application of ordinary force.

Another object is to provide a poster frame as set forth in the object immediately preceding, wherein the poster frame, if improperly `assembled in the field Iby the customer may be disassembled by the application of excessive pressure, wi-th or without the assistance `of a tool, such as a screw driver, to release each corner lock.

Another object is to provide an improved corner lock for locking the corners of a poster frame to one another in the manner set forth in the foregoing object, the corner lock preferably being made of somewhat resilient material, such as cold rolled steel and having a locking linger which yields during assembly while the corners of the side rails are being pushed into engagement with one another but which resists disassembly by opposing motion in the reverse direction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l is a front elevation of a poster frame, upon a reduced scale, shown in its assembled condition and with a poster being inserted therein;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal section taken along the line 2 2 in FIGURE l, showing the poster in cross-section within the poster frame, but with the central portion broken `away and the poster frame shown upon an enlarged scale in order to bring out its construction more clearly;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 3 3 in `FIGURE l, also centrally broken away and shown upon an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevation showing the upper lett-hand corner of FIGURE l during assembly of a top rail and a side rail by means of a corner lock acording to the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevation upon an enlarged scale of one of the Acorner locks used in the form of the invention shown in FIGURES l to 4 inclusive;

FIGURE 6 is a righthand side elevation of FIGURE 5, looking in the direction of the line 6 6;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of a slight modication of the corner lock of FIGURE 5, wherein the end of the locking nger is rounded to facilitate easier withdrawal in the event of incorrect assembly;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary rear elevation of a frame side rail containing a further modiiied corner lock, ac-

cording to the invention, as installed in a side rail and ready for application of the top rail; and

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view of the assembly shown in FIGURE 8, looking in the direction of the line 9 9 therein.

Referring to the drawings in detail, FIGURE 1 shows in iront elevation a knocked-down poster frame, generally designated itl, in its assembled condition held. together by corner locks I2 engaging frame side rails Illiand top and bottom rails I6 and I8 respectively, according to one form of the invention. FIGURES l and 2 show a poster 2t) partially inserted in the poster trame l0. The size of the poster frame Ill and poster 2d are shown considerably smaller than they ordinarily would be in actual practice, in order to enable the showing of details on a larger scale, and FIGURE 2 shows the frame rails I2, I6 and I8 still further enlarged for the same purpose.

The side, top and bottom rails I4, Id and 18 are of identical construction and preferably constitute extruded aluminum bars, the top rail I6, however, being subsequently partially cut away to facilitate insertion of the poster 2t), as explained below. Except for this difference, each of the rails I4, I6 and I8 consists of a main channel portion 22 (FIGURE 2) having a rim portion or wall 24 from which parallel forward and rearward. llanges 26 and 28 project inwardly. The flange 26 has a further beaded ange 30 projecting perpendicular-ly to the flange 26 and extending parallel to the rim portion 24 toward the ilange 2S, forming an inwardly-facing trough or channel 32 with a mouth 34 or entrance slit through which the poster 2li enters. As previously stated, the rearward portion of the rim wall 24 of the top rail I6 including its flange 28 is cut away for the entire length thereof to provide a slot 36 (FIGURE 3) for the insertion of the poster 2li'.

Projecting outwardly from each main channel portion 22 of each rail I4, I6 or I8 (FIGURES 2 and. 3) is a marginal wall 38 which is provided with any suitable shape for decorative purposes, the shape of slightly curved cross-section shown in the drawing being only one form which that shape may take. Each marginal wall 38 on its rearward side is provided with a peripheral bead or flange dil for partly ornamental and partly structurally-strengthening purposes. Inwardly of the peripheral dange d@ (FIGURES 2 and 3), the marginal wall 38 on its rearward side is provided4 with an inwardly-facing outer rib l2 of inverted L-shaped cross-section providing an outer groove 44. rIlle main channel wall 24 immediately opposite each such L-shaped rib i2 is provided with an inner rib i6 of approximately U-shaped cross-section containing an inner groove i8 facing toward and in the same plane as the outer groove 4d. These grooves 4d and 4S provide a channel 49 to receive an arm d@ of a corner lock l2, as described. below.

Each corner lock l2 (FIGURES 5 and 6) is a substantially ilat approximately L-shaped member preferably of somewhat resilient sheet metal, such as cold rolled steel, to provide a spring locking effect. Each corner lock I2 consists of two similar arms 50 (FIGURE 5) disposed at right angles to one another within a base portion or plate 52 and having substantially straight outer edges 5d. Each arm Si? has an inclined end edge 56 terminating in a rounded outer end or tip 58 from which an interrupted inner edge 60 extends parallel to the outer edge Srl to a junction 62. The outer portion ed and inner portion 66 of the interrupted inner edge 6d are separated from one another by a gap 68 within which is located a tapered locking spring finger 70, the base 72 of which lies adjacent and spaced slightly away from the inclined end edge 56 and the axis of which is inclined or disposed at an oblique angle to both the parallel inner and outer edges dit and 54 so that it extends toward the general direction of the axis of the opposite locking linger 7@ and intersects the latter at a location near the junction 62 of the inner edge portions 66.

Each locking finger 7i) lies substantially within the plane of the `base portion 52 and has a tip 74 with an outer edge 76 oblique to the axis of the spring finger 70 so as to form relatively sharp forward and rearward points 78 and 79 projecting beyond the aligned portions 64 and 66 of the inner edge of). The opposite edges 8f) and 82 of each locking finger 7th are spaced away from the adjacent edges 84 and 86 of the arm 5@ so as to provide a clearance for the motion of the locking finger 70 in locking the frame rails 14, 16 and 18 together as indicated by the dotted positions of the locking fingers 78 in FIGURE 5.

In the assembly of the poster frame 10, two side rails 14, a bottom rail 18 and a top rail 16 are cut to appropriate lengths with their opposite ends 98 cut off at oblique angles of 45 degrees to their respective axes in `order to form miter joints 92 with one another when assembled (FIGURES l and 4). The rearward portion of the rim wall 24 and flange 28 of the top rail 16 are cut away to form the slot 36 for insertion of the poster 20. One of the corner locks 12 is now placed adjacent one end of each frame rail 14, 16 or 18 and one of its arms Si) pushed into the channel 49 until the junction or corner -62 engages the end 91B of the rail (FIGURE 4). As the arm f) is pushed into the channel 49, the tip 74 of the locking finger 70 engages the bottom of the inner groove 48 and forces the finger 78 to move within the plane of the base portion 52 toward the edge portions 76 so that it occupies the dotted line position shown in FIGURE 5 with the point 79 indenting the metal at the bottom of the groove 48. The foregoing action is then repeated as shown in FIGURE 4 by inserting the remaining arm 50 of the corner lock 12 in the channel 49 of the adjacent rail 14, 16 or 18, as the case may be. These two rails are then pushed firmly together at right angles to fully seat the remaining arm 50 in its channel 49, whereupon their oblique edges 90 abut one another in a miter joint 92. The operator repeats this procedure for each of the adjacent ends of the respective frame rails 14, 16 and 18 until assembly has been completed, as shown in FIGURE 1, whereupon the poster frame is ready for use.

To insert a poster in the poster frame thus assembled, the operator aligns the bottom of the poster 2i) with the slot 36 in the upper frame rail 15 (FIGURE 3) and lowers it through the slot 36 and through the mouths 34 (FIGURE 2) into the channels 32, guided by the beaded ends of the flanges 30. The poster is removed by reversing this procedure.

After assembly of the frame rails 14, 15 and 18 into the poster frame 1t), they resist disassembly by the locking actions of the spring fingers 711, the corners or points 79 of the tips 74 tending to indent the bottoms of the grooves 48 if withdrawal of the arms 5@ of the corner locks 12 is attempted. If, however, any of the frame rails 14, 16 or 18 have been improperly assembled by 6 mistake, the application of an excessive pulling force will overcome the spring effect of the spring fingers 7th and enable the arms of the corner locks 12 to be withdrawn notwithstanding the opposing action of the spring fingers 7f3.

The slightly modified corner lock 112 shown in FIG- URE 7 is provided to enable easier withdrawal of the corner lock 12, with corresponding parts designated by the same reference numerals, increased by 100 to difierentiate the construction from that shown in FIGURES 1 to 5 inclusive. In particular, the only substantial change between the corner lock 12 of FIGURE 5 and the slightly modified corner lock 112 of FIGURE 7 is that the tip 174 of each tapered spring finger 178 has been rounded. This construction effects more frictional and less indent- CTI ing engagement of the tip 174 with its respective frame rail, and thus enables withdrawal of the arm 150 of each corner lock 112 to be effected with a pull of less force than is the case with the pointed corner lock lingers of FIGURE 5. At the same time, however, the respective frame rails 14, 16 and 18 of thel frame assembled with the use of the modified corner lock 112 are held in assembly with one another with a force adequate to prevent accidental or unintended disassembly.

The modified corner lock 212 shown in rear elevation in FIGURE 8 and in top plan view in FIGURE 9 employs and couples the same frame rails 14, 16 and 18, which are therefore designated with the same reference numerals as the rails 14, 16 and 18 in FIGURES 1 to 4 inclusive. The corner lock 212, as before, is of resilient or spring material, such as cold rolled sheet steel and consists of a base portion 252 from which two arms 250 extend at right angles to one another with outer and inner parallel edges 254 and 261i respectively connected by an obliquely-inclined end edge 256 (FIGURE 8). As before, the inner edge 260 is divided into two parts 264 and 266 aligned with one another but the locking finger 270 has its outer edge 281B co-extensive with the edge portion 264 and forming a continuation thereof. The gap 258 is now approximately L-shaped with opposite edges 282 and 286 so that the tip 274 of the locking finger 270 is arcuate and terminates in a point 278. In this instance, however, the locking finger 270 does not lie within the plane of the base portion 252 as did the locking finger 70 relatively to the base portion 52 of FIGURES 5 and 6, but projects out of that plane in a rearwardly-inclined direction (FIGURE 9).

In the assembly of the poster frame 1t) by means of the further modified corner lock 212, two side rails 14, a bottom rail 18 and a top rail 16 are prepared as before and the arms 250 of the corner locks 212 inserted in succession within their respective channels 49 and pressed or pushed into seated positions therein with the oblique ends engaging one another to form the miter joints 92 shown in FIGURE 1. As each arm 250 is pushed into its respective channel 49, however, the locking finger 270 thereof is forced inwardly toward the plane of its base portion 252, resistedby its resilience, which causes the pointed end 278 of its tip 274 to dig into the material of the rail 14, 16 or 18 as the case may be, such material being preferably aluminum and therefore easily indented.

At the same time, it will be self-evident that the same pressure exerted by the resilient locking finger 270 prevents wobble between the parts and also takes up any slack arising from the manufacturing tolerances thereof.

If, now, disassembly is attempted, it is resisted by the action of the laterally-bent spring fingers 278 and their pointed ends 278. Only the application of an excessive force far exceeding a normal pull will separate the thuscoupled rails from one another, Vbut this may be done if, as before, the assembler makes a mistake in assembling the part, such as, for example, by joining two side rails 14 rather than a side rail 14 and `a top or bottom rail 16 or 18.

What I claim is:

1. A poster frame, comprising a multiplicity of frame rails having obliquely-directed ends disposed end-to-end in an open-centered arrangement,

said frame rails at their opposite ends having longitudinally-extending recesses therein, and corner locks extending across the junctions between said obliquely-directed ends and having arms extending into said recesses,

each arm having unidirectional locking means thereon effecting free sliding insertion thereof into its respective recess but resisting withdrawal thereof from said recess, each corner lock comprising a plate of resilient materials with said arms disposed at substantially right angles to one another and having interrupted inner edges,

said locking means including 4an elongated resilient locking ringer connected to the inner edge of each arm near the outer end thereof and projecting away from said outer end toward the junction of said arms and outwardly beyond said inner edge into engagement with its respective rail within the recess thereof.

2. A poster frame, according to claim 1, wherein said fingers have substantially sharp pointed outer ends indentingly engaging their respective rails.

3. A poster frame, according to claim 1, wherein said fingers have rounded outer ends frictionally engaging their respective rails.

4. A poster frame, comprising a multiplicity of frame rails having obliquely-directed ends disposed end-mend in an open-centered arrangement,

said frame rails at their opposite ends having longitudinally-extending recesses therein, and corner locks extending across the junction between said obliquely-directed ends and having arms extending into said recesses,

each arm having unidirectional locking means thereon effecting free sliding insertion thereof into its respective recess but resisting withdrawal thereof from said recess, each corner lock comprising a plate of resilient material with said arms substantially `co-planar therewith,

said locking means including a resilient locking finger on each arm projecting obliquely therefrom into engagement with its respective Irail within the recess thereof,

said fingers projecting laterally out of the plane of said plate into engagement with their respective rails.

5. A corner lock for coupling recessed poster frame rails, Comprising a plate of resilient material having a pair of arms disposed substantially at right angles to one another in 5 substantially the same plane and having interrupted inner edges,

each of said arms having on its inner edge an elongated unidirectional locking finger connected to each arm near the outer end thereof and extending toward the junction of said arms and `also projecting outwardly therefrom beyond its respective inner edge.

6. A corner lock, according to claim 5, wherein said lingers have substantially sharp pointed outer ends indentingly engaging their respective rails.

7. A corner lock, according to claim 5, wherein said fingers have rounded outer ends `frictionally engaging their respective rails.

8. A corner lock, comprising a plate of resilient material having a pair of arms projecting therefrom angularly to one another in substantially the same plane,

each of said arms having thereon a unidirectional locking finger projecting obliquely therefrom,

said fingers projecting laterally out of the plane of said plate into engagement with their respective rails.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1952 Edwards 40-15-5 8/1961 Casebolt 189-364 8/1965 Nelson 189-364 

1. A POSTER FRAME, COMPRISING A MULTIPLICITY OF FRAME RAILS HAVING OBLIQUELY-DIRECTED ENDS DISPOSED END-TO-END IN AN OPEN-CENTERED ARRANGEMENT, SAID FRAME RAILS AT THEIR OPPOSITE ENDS HAVING LONGITUDINALLY-EXTENDING RECESSES THEREIN, AND CORNER LOCKS EXTENDING ACROSS THE JUNCTIONS BETWEEN SAID OBLIQUELY-DIRECTED ENDS AND HAVING ARMS EXTENDING INTO SAID RECESSES, EACH ARM HAVING UNIDIRECTIONAL LOCKING MEANS THEREON EFFECTING FREE SLIDING INSERTION THEREOF INTO ITS RESPECTIVE RECESS BUT RESISTING WITHDRAWAL THEREOF FROM SAID RECESS, EACH CORNER LOCK COMPRISING A PLATE OF RESILIENT MATERIALS WITH SAID ARMS DISPOSED AT SUBSTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLES TO ONE ANOTHER AND HAVING INTERRUPTED INNER EDGES, SAID LOCKING MEANS INCLUDING AN ELONGATED RESILIENT LOCKING FINGER CONNECTED TO THE INNER EDGE OF EACH ARM NEAR THE OUTER END THEREOF AND PROJECTING AWAY FROM SAID OUTER END TOWARD THE JUNCTION OF SAID ARMS AND OUTWARDLY BEYOND SAID INNER EDGE INT ENGAGEMENT WITH ITS RESPECTIVE RAIL WITHIN THE RECESS THEREOF. 